Observations
by SammyQuill
Summary: What is happening here? Is Lily actually accusing you of being... unobservant?.. " One shot.


"Hey."

You look up from the tapestry you've been examining for quite some time now. You're almost sure that you've cracked the riddle behind Barnabas' odd actions and are close to finding out what Lucius had been snidely hinting at in the Common Room earlier. In fact, a few more minutes and you would have gotten it. You are already positive that the trigger must be some sort of physical action rather than an incantation or wand movement…

"Hello," you reply, turning away from the tapestry. It could wait a few hours.

"Anything interesting in there?" she asks innocently, nodding towards the wall you'd been examining a mere minute ago.

"Perhaps," you reply noncommittally and watch her lips form that all too familiar pout used when you were purposely evasive.

You both start walking down the corridor towards the staircase and you can tell by her slightly tense gait that something is wrong. Lily's movements are usually more relaxed, she does not feel the need to walk ramrod straight. The final sign of your companion being ill at ease is the fact that she doesn't absently have her arm looped through yours which she has taken to doing lately – and which you have to admit you are sorely missing right about now.

"So, how was your day?" she asks, forcing herself to make conversation. You can tell by the way her shoulder isn't really lifting as much, as it does when she is actually curious.

"Ordinary," you say and wonder if you should add "but about to get better," but then decide against it. In her current mood, it would not be wise to further agitate her by "acting smart" – something Lily often claimed you couldn't help.

You've reached the main gate now and are slowly crossing the Hogwarts' borders when you finally decide to ask her. Knowing Lily, your decision could be lethal, especially if she goes into denial and decides you are reading too much into it and that you need a healthy dose of silence throughout the evening. You try to come up with all sorts of excuses for why you want to know. You don't want to spend the rest of the evening with her like this? No, you'd spend an evening with her even if she was squeezing Bobutuber Pus in your eyes the whole time. Someone else might notice her inconvenience and pin you as the one responsible for it? No, you're almost certain no one can tell the difference of the curve in her lips when she smiles a real smile and when she smiles a fake one. In the end, you admit that you will ask (come hell or high fire) just because you want to know. And perhaps help make it better.

"Lily, is something the matter," you begin cautiously and cringe when you feel more than see her stiffen.

"What makes you ask that?" So she's taking the denial route, you are done for. The way you see it, you have about thirty seconds flat to talk your way out of this and at least restore her previous mood or you'd be sorry you'd asked the question in the first place.

You doubt Lily would be much impressed if you tell her the hard tread of her feet, the slight rigidness in her back and the darker than usual shade of green in her eyes had given her away so you settle for saying "You seem upset."

A contemplative look comes across her face as though you've said something far more profound.

"Hmm… so you do notice how I _seem_," she says aiming hard to sound absent minded but not fooling you at all. Though in her defense, not everyone analyzes each and every lilt in her voice.

Not sure she wants a response, you settle for a quiet "Hm" instead.

"I'm sorry Sev, it's that Mary, she has my mind all screwed up," this all comes out in a rush and slight colour on her cheeks.

"And what did Miss MacDonald do this time?"

"You're going to think this is so stupid," she says, turning away from you to avoid your gaze as she continues. "See, she saw us a couple of times, I didn't know it but she was eavesdropping. And good thing too because I would have hexed her had I found out."

So Lily's friend has been overhearing your conversations, how childish. And fruitless seeing as you and Lily had discussed nothing of importance in a place where she would be readily available to eavesdrop.

"And well, it was something she heard… or something she didn't hear…" you could see the tips of Lily's ears going slightly pink at the admission. What could it be?

"And what is it that she did not hear, other than publicly known rules of moral and social conduct?"

You expected the familiar quirk of her eyes as she tried to suppress a giggle at your comment. Though unintentionally, you always made her laugh with your very obvious questions. But today, instead of that slight sparkle entering her eye, more red covers her cheek as she attempts to mumble something in her hands.

"Pardon?"

"MarysaysyoudontnoticehowIlook," she mutters fast, probably hoping you will let the mater drop or just ignore it as one of those girl things.

"And how would she possibly know that?" you ask genuinely curious. Last time you checked, you and Lily's female friend had not spoken past a hasty and forcibly polite "Good evening" as you and Lily had run into her a few weeks ago.

To your surprise, some of the red fades from Lily's cheek as she turns to face you properly, her eyes now glaring slightly in defiance.

"Well, it's a bit obvious Sev, you never tell me I look nice in anything, you don't ever say what clothes or hair style suits me. Not even in a bad way. You react the same way when I'm wearing my Pajamas as when I'm dripping from the rain and when I'm dressed up for an evening out."

For a moment, you are completely taken aback by her impromptu speech. Well, one things for certain, Lily's friend has entirely too much time on her hands. And another, she's absolutely right…

"Well," Lily questions, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground.

You realize with a start that Lily is expecting some sort of an excuse, some reason, perhaps an apology. But you don't have one so you just hang your head.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

You try to hang your head even further to show your remorse and you know by her shadow cast on the sunny stone path that she's shifting away from you, ready to walk off.

"You don't observe me at all, do you Severus Snape? I could be a polar bear wearing a white coat in the middle of a snow storm for all you care." She accuses heatedly and you hear her take the first step away. You raise your head slightly to watch her back, struggling to think of something, anything, to make her stop.

"Lily… Polar bears aren't the same shade of white as snow… and they send out heat signatures-" you quell at the death glare she's sending you right now. Okay, that was not your best idea.

She takes several more steps away and you practically choke out the first thing that comes to mind.

"When it rains… your hair clings to your back and your forehead. Your fringe makes a slight curve just above your eyebrow and it looks about two shades darker due to the water… "

Lily stops in her track as though struck by lightening and you know you've done something right so you continue without giving yourself much time to analyze what gibberish you're spouting.

"And when you're in a particularly good mood, you run your hands through your hair and flip them about once every few minutes. And you like to curl them around your fingers when you're studying, reading or just bored"

You definitely have her attention now; she's listening carefully, as though not wishing to miss a single word.

"And when you're angry, your eyes become slightly greener than under normal circumstances. I've gone through a lot of scrolls and books about the brain's reaction to dopamine and serotonin but I can't figure out why your eyes do that?.. Perhaps another neurotransmitter is at work…"

"And?.." the word come out quietly. If you weren't so attuned to her vocal chords, you would have missed the question it came in the form of. At least it was a good sign; she wanted you to carry on.

"And when you eat, one can tell how much you're enjoying your food by the way your mouth forms around the spoon or fork. If you're putting the entire spoon in your mouth and chewing off slowly, it means you're really enjoying it. But when you eat your sister's bread custard, I – one - can tell you're only doing it to be diplomatic because even though you take the same amount as everyone else, you nibble at the end of your fork and swallow quickly…"

Lily has turned to face you with a most peculiar look in her eyes. She's absently closing the distance between you two and you realize the need to hurriedly conclude your monologue.

"So, in short, yes, I don't see what you're wearing every day or how your hair looks in a particular fashion. But in my defense, it's because I'm far too occupied seeing _you_… I know that's probably not a very good excuse but…"

"I don't know… Sounds like a reasonable excuse to me…" Lily says as she closes the gap between the two of you and places her arms on your shoulder. Suddenly, you don't feel so well. Something in your stomach is warning you of… Something…

Suddenly, those lips and mouth you spend to much time observing are ridiculously close to yours.


End file.
